The Herbert Hoover Song

When I was just a lad, in 1964

My Mom looked at the TV set

And recoiled in total horror.

A crabby looking pumpkin face

Had filled the TV set

"Oh my God, it's Herbert Hoover!

And he's not dead yet!"

Mr. Hoover was a wonder boy

And humanitarian

But he couldn't wrap his brain 

Around the mess that he was in.

In 1932 he was kicked out on his tush

And his name equated "failure"

Until that slot was filled

By George W. Bush

The George W. Bush Song

George W. Bush is a moron
He helped Dick Cheney's friends get richer yet
If you were poor he just piled more on
And took away the social safety net.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

He was in way over his head.
And Americans wound up dead
Looking for weapons of mass destruction
that didn't exist.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

He stole the Gore election
The stocks went tank-o-rama
And after seven years
He never caught Osama.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

And although I am not trying
To sound any meaner
He did a heck of job
With Hurricane Katrina.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

George W. Bush wrecked our country
I hope he's happy painting dogs and cats
And if his brother Jeb wins the White House
Ladies and gentlemen, hang on to your hats!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 1972

Nixon Now

A most impressive effort of the Nixon campaign trying to lure the youth vote, 1972 was the first where 18 year-olds could vote.

There was a real storm front between those who were raised during the Great Depression and World War Two as opposed to us Boomers who only saw the shadow of the atomic/nuclear cloud. We grew up with the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, and the Cold War. Our protests had a sense of urgency since we were concerned tomorrow might never come. Something had to be done about this mess NOW! At the time this was recognized and dubbed The Generation Gap. This button was an attempt by the Nixon people to reach over that gap. Apparently, in terms being re-elected, it worked.

I find it humorous that in 1972 Nixon won by a landslide, but by 1974 when he resigned in total disgrace I could find few people who admitted they voted for him.

When I think about who was the worst president in U.S. history, I have a hard time choosing between Nixon, Reagan, Bush II, Harding or Buchanan.

Obscuro Comix Philosophy in Action

I got Charlie to pose with the next three Morty Comix I'll be distributing. It looks like # 2321 will have a little Charlie toothmark on the upper right hand corner as a result.

Morty Comix is moving into a new phase. Initially, starting nearly three decades ago, I sent a copy of an original art Morty Comix to each correspondent. I stopped in December 1999, but revived the series in 2010 with issue # 2196.  I guess this series could not co-exist with a George W. Bush presidency. No matter what surrealist image I could draw, there was no way I could outdo his real life absurdity. The man was political Dadaist.

In the pre-Internet days, we Newavers relied heavily on the USPS for our communication, and as a result a lot of Morty Comix were sent to my comix comrades. 

But those were the sunny slopes of yesterday. I still draw Morty Comix but the audience has changed. If this series made completist collectors go nuts in the past, it will really drive them over the edge now. Since Morty Comix # 2279 my tactics have changed.

I now just drop them at random in little secret pockets in the world at large here in the Pacific Northwest  where anyone might find one. Like little cartoon time bombs. Guerrilla comix I suppose you could call them. What happens to the art after I deposit it is beyond my control. So far, only one of these Mortyfied sites has responded back to Morty the Blog. The rest of them probably land in the recycling or trash can.

Can't explain why, but this method of comix art distribution really appeals to me. It seems to me this is almost the quintessential Obscuro Comix sort of activity. A true Obscuro would draw it and just throw it away, but I have enough ego to want some sort of audience, even if they discover it and ask, "What the Hell is this crap?" Well, especially if they ask, "What the Hell is this crap?" It seems so subversive and mischievous. Perhaps that is the appeal.

Plus I'm scanning and posting each one here, so at least the images are preserved even if the original gets deep-sixed, which I'm guessing most of them are.

I would love to know what Marcel Duchamp would make of this. I suspect he would've approved and made elaborate suggestions for how to fine tune this activity.

2001 So Far

1 sheet, printed in May 2001. Number of copies unknown, but probably not many. Ten or less is my guess.

Yes, it was only May but we had already experienced a stolen presidential election and a massive earthquake. But yet to come, of course, was September 11. As an added bonus, Governor Gary Locke personally arrived at my place to employment to inform us we were being eliminated from the budget.

A throwaway work.

The Wrong Foot

1st published August 2001. 32 copies on yellow cardstock.

The 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed. of June 2005 had 5 copies on red cardstock.

Drawn with a #1 lead pencil.

As you can tell, I didn't have a lot of confidence in George W. Bush in his role as President even though he had only been in office for eight months when this was published. I'm afraid my opinion didn't improve over time.

Oddly, the most enthusiastic readers of this little comic were Republicans!